Bosnia and Herzegovina Flag

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Our digitally printed Bosnia and Herzegovina flags are produced to a high quality, durable knitted polyester. Created to the Flag Institute approved design, by us here in the UK. Each flag is hand finished with a double sewn hem for durability, and a headband, rope and toggle suitable for attachment to any standard flagpole.

Brief History

The first known symbol of what is to be known as Bosnia and Herzegovina was the Coat of Arms of the king of Bosnia, who ruled from 1377 untill 1463. It is a blue shield with six gold fleur de lys around a white bend.

This coat of arms is the basis for the modern Coat of Arms of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Coat of Arms of the Bosnian Kingdom

The Western Herzegovina Flag (1760)

After the Ottoman troops left in 1878 a modified version Bosnian Revolt Flag was used as the national flag of the Independent Nation of Bosnia. However, this flag and the independent nation were short lived. Two months after the flag was raised the Austro-Hungarian empire occupied Bosnia.

Under Austro-Hungarian rule in 1908 Bosnia and Herzegovina were given two separate flags. The flag of Herzegovina was yellow and red bicolour with the Flag of Bosnia being the reverse. Between 1878 and 1908 the Provenance of Bosnia that featured a shield that was originally the Coat of Arms of 14th Century Bosnian nobleman Stjephan Vukčić Kosača.

The Bosnian Revolt Flag (1931 – 1932)

The Flag of Independent Bosnia (1878)

The end of World War One in 1918 also signalled the end of Austro-Hungarian rule. Bosnia and Herzegovina was brought into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Taking the Flag of The Kingdom of Yugoslavia, it also saw the removal of any trace of Bosnian identity. This remained until Nazi forces took over the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1941. During this time Bosnia and Herzegovina was under the swastika.

The Flag of Herzegovina under Austro-Hungarian annexation (1908 – 1918)

The Flag of Bosnia under Austro-Hungarian annexation (1908 -1918)

The Flag of Bosnia under the Austro-Hungarian administration (1987 – 1908)

The Flag of The Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918 to 1941)

The Nazi Swastika (1941 – 1944)

After World War Two Bosnia became a base for the military defence industry under Socialist Yugoslavia. Its flag was plain red with the Yugoslav flag in the top left hand side. It was also given the Coat of Arms of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina that symbolised communism; the iconography included the red star, factory towers and wheat. The multi-ethnic society thrived both culturally and socially during its time until the break up of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

The Flag of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina (1945 – 1992)

The Coat of Arms of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The newly independent Bosnia and Herzegovina chose the Arms of the Kings of Bosnia Kotromanić Dynasty from the 1377 as the centre point of the new white flag. However this independence didn’t bring peace, the Bosnian War raged from 1992 to 1995 over whether they should stay with the Yugoslav Federation.

It wasn’t until signing of the Washington accords that a joint Bosniak-Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovania was born. The UN High Representative introduced a new flag because the Federation could not agree on a suitable one. The current flag that contains no historical reference to the old Bosnian states.

The Flag of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992 – 1998)

The New Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1998 to Present Day)

Alternative Flag Variations

Here are the proposed Flags that the Bosniak-Croat federation could not agree on.

A more tradition Tricolour blue-green-red representing the nations living in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a olive branch and a simplistic map on a light blue flag were offered in the first proposal.

The Second set of proposals saw a red-white-blue tricolour with 12 five-pointed stars, representing the EU and also a yellow map of Bosnia and Herzegovina surrounded by two olive branches.

The third set of proposals were designed by Charles Westendrop and included the first being similar to todays flag and two others that featured white, orange and yellow bars.

The First Alternative Flag of the First Proposal

The Second Alternative Flag of the First Proposal

The Third Alternative Flag of the First proposal

The First Alternative flag of the Second Proposal

The Second Alternative Flag of the Second Proposal

The Third Alternative Flag of the Second Proposal

The Fourth Alternative Flag of the Second Proposal

The First Alternative Flag of the Third Proposal

The Second Alternative Flag of the Third Proposal

The Third Alternative Flag of the Third Proposal

More Information

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